With the NFL season over and the MLB season still a month away, the NBA is the main draw for fans of sports nowadays (with all due respect to the NHL fans out there).
It's a surprise then that ESPN has brought back JJ Redick to the "First Take" show this week, where he joined Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe and Molly Qerim. And Redick's return has already brought huge attention to the show despite there being no NBA games since last week due to the All-Star break.
During a discussion about who would win the Eastern Conference, Redick addressed comments by Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, who just joined the team last month.
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"I've seen the trend for years," Redick, who played under Rivers from 2013 to 2017, said adamantly on live television. "The trend is always making excuses. We get it — taking over a team in the middle of the season is hard. We get it. Just like getting traded in the middle of the season is hard for a player. We get it. But it's always an excuse. It's always throwing your team under the bus ... There's never accountability with that guy."
Rivers has been adamant about the struggles of joining a team chasing a title midseason, particularly making comments during the All-Star Media Day on Saturday.
"Taking a job when you’re about to go on the toughest road trip of the season is not the smartest decision," Rivers said.
Redick has received backlash from a few players, including NBA veteran Patrick Beverly. While the two seem to be friends — Beverly has guested on Redick's podcast multiple times already — the two had an exchange on social media after Beverly suggested that Rivers saved Redick's career.
Pat my guy I had a four year offer with player option for the same money to be a starter for a different team. FOH “saved my career”. https://t.co/5lXowm2j8e
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) February 20, 2024
Beverly has also spoken on his own podcast about how Redick should not have been in the starting line-up when the Clippers lost a 3-1 lead to the Houston Rockets in 2015, to which Redick responded with some data.
Luckily the cameras in the arena have better eyes than you.
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) February 21, 2024
289 halfcourt matchups
21-56 shooting by Harden as contesting defender
37.5% FG (42.9% eFG)
0.94 points per direct iso allowed on 37 isolations
I guess that’s getting torched??? https://t.co/JoyzNy5WOP
Austin Rivers, the son of Doc and teammate of Redick on a few iterations of the Clippers, came to the defense of his dad. Austin said that while he did not agree that his father saved Redick's career, he doesn't believe Redick's sentiments about the lack of accountability facing his father.
"I just simply don't agree with it," Austin Rivers said. "For someone who's not accountable, he seems to always be held responsible considering that he's the guy who's always fired when things don't go right."
Stephen A. Smith then decided to address the comments on "The Stephen A. Smith Show," and he took a "neutral" stance.
"This is one of those situations where there are an abundance of people who could be right," Smith said.
Smith said that he believes Rivers is a "damn good coach," and also agreed that he won't receive much accountability if he can't lead the Bucks to a title this year because of the difficulties of taking over a team in the middle of the season.
However, he does believe that Rivers only has until next year.
"If he doesn't win by next year, I think his head coaching career is over," Smith said.
The other point Smith made is that he thinks that there is likely a basis for what Redick is saying given the veteran's history in the league.
Related: Stephen A. Smith among big names attacking horrible NBA All-Star Game
"When you're a player as highly intellectual and highly abreast of what basketball entails the way JJ Redick is and you go in like that, you got reason to do so," Smith said. "And I got the impression that JJ Redick's words weren't just coming from him. It was coming from an abundance of players who happen to feel a certain way about Doc Rivers."
To Smith's point, at least one other player who played under Rivers has shown support for Redick.
Marcin Gortat, a 12-year NBA veteran, sent a quote tweet of a check box emoji in response to Redick's comments about Rivers.
— Marcin Gortat🇵🇱 (@MGortat) February 20, 2024
Gortat was coached by Rivers on the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2018-19 season, and has said in the past that while he thinks Rivers is a "good dude," he doesn't trust his coaching decisions.
There may be more to come out from this story — but the interesting wrinkle amid all of this is that Rivers' departure from ESPN to return to coaching actually opened up the opportunity for a new seat on ESPN's top broadcast team. It was first reported by The Athletic last week that replacing Rivers and joining Hall of Fame broadcasters Mike Breen and Doris Burke on the team that is calling the NBA Finals this year will be none other than Redick.
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